September 16, 2005 – Cambridge, Ontario – Tonya Henning of Cambridge, ON, claimed the overall 1.40 Junior/Amateur Championship title at the two-week Collingwood Horse Show held August 10-14 and August 17-21 in Collingwood, ON.

The championship title was the culmination of four weeks of impressive results in the show jumping ring for 20-year-old Henning. One week after making her debut as a member of the Ontario Team at the North American Young Riders’ Championship in Lexington, VA, Henning was named the Junior/Amateur Grand Champion and awarded the Paul Scriver Memorial Trophy at the CSI-W Caledon Summer Festival in Palgrave, ON.

With the Collingwood Horse Show next on the calendar, Henning continued to enjoy notable results in the 1.40m Junior/Amateur Division. Riding Mill Creek Sparky, a seven-year-old brown Oldenburg gelding, Henning placed second in the $2,500 Grand Prix during the first week of competition, the CSI-W Collingwood Festival. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and Henning found herself in the winner’s circle the following Sunday after posting the only clear round in the $2,500 Grand Prix held during the Kubota Collingwood Classic.

“The course was very difficult, there were some hard lines, but Sparky was great and jumped everything clear,” said Henning, who is based at her father’s Mill Creek Stables in Cambridge, ON. “Even though he was purchased for me as a foal, this is the first year that I have actually ridden him. We have developed a strong partnership together over the summer. Every time we go into the ring, he just gets better and better, and I am very excited for his future career.”

Mill Creek Sparky was bred in Canada and purchased as a six-month-old foal for Henning as a Christmas present from her father. Sparky’s sire, Skorpio, had been Henning’s first equitation and jumper horse, and it was hoped that his first foal, Sparky, would continue the tradition of carrying Henning to victory.

“At 18hh, he is really big and he thinks he is the king – everything has to revolve around him and he will let you know if things are not the way he likes them,” Henning says of Sparky’s personality. “He is very demanding, but I think that is what makes him great; he knows what he wants!”

Early in his career, Mill Creek Sparky excelled in the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series, and this past winter was shown in Ocala, FL, with much success by Mill Creek Stables trainer, Sebastien Kapel. Henning took over the reins upon their return to Canada.

In addition to her success with Mill Creek Sparky, Henning was also crowned the 1.20 Junior/Amateur Champion during the Kubota Collingwood Classic with El Capricho Patrick. The pair began the second week of competition with a win in the Speed class and went on to claim victory in the 1.20m Junior/Amateur Grand Prix.

“Patrick was amazing, he didn’t have a rail all week,” praised Henning of the 11-year-old chestnut Argentinean-bred gelding she has ridden for the past five years. “He definitely knows what it means to go to the shows, and he wants to win. He truly loves the atmosphere at a horse show.”

Located less than a one-hour drive southwest of Toronto, Mill Creek Stables is one of Canada’s largest sport horse breeding and sales barns, offering prospects in a variety of disciplines. For more information, please visit www.millcreekstables.com, e-mail: phenning@millcreekstables.com or call (519) 740-1121.